Stepping In
by Patience.Virtue.Is
Summary: Complete. Miley and Oliver are totally in love. It’s known fact to everyone, especially to Lilly Truscott. But when Lilly realizes that neither of these love bugs will make a move on their own, she can’t help but to step in. MOLIVER!
1. Monday

**First Author's Note:** Yes, I know: bad me! Posting another story even though I have three in-progress ones...I'm sorry. But I HAD to get this one up. It's my first try at a Hannah Montana fanfic. I've recently gotten addicted to Moliver stories so now I'm going to try to write one of my own.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hannah Montana or any characters/actors associated with said show. (But I'd sure love to have personal access to Mitchel Musso!)

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**MONDAY:**

Miley Stewart groggily hit the snooze button on her alarm clock, or rather she tried to, but she kept missing it. Then she tried plan B, grabbing her pillow and shoving it over her head to muffle the noise. That didn't work either. Groaning and complaining, she got up and proceeded to get ready for school. After she showered and dressed, she headed downstairs to eat breakfast.

"Mornin', Bud." Her father called out to her cheerfully. Miley simply grunted in response and grabbed a bowl of cereal. The phone trilled loudly, earning a caveman-like groan from Miley that sounded something like 'urghh'. Robbie Ray sighed and picked it up.

"Lilly in five." He said after hanging up the phone. Lilly skated in once he opened the screen door.

"Mornin', Lilly."

"Morning Mr. S, morning Miley." Lilly waved, even though she was right next to the two. Miley grunted again and went back to glaring at her cereal bowl. Lilly turned to Mr. Stewart. "What's wrong with her?"

"It's Monday morning. What isn't wrong with her? She's about as unhappy as a pig whose mud puddle dried up in the July sun." Mr. Stewart sighed, causing a wicked grin to make its way onto Lilly's lips.

"I know something that will definitely cheer her up! Watch and learn Mr. S. What time is it?" She asked. Jackson finally made his appearance into the room, answering Lilly's question at the same time.

"It's 7:28 why?"

"Oh no reason, I just told _Oliver_ that he should come by here at about 7:30 and get a ride with us because his mom is had to go out of town last night. That's okay, right Mr. S?" Lilly asked loudly.

At the sound of Oliver's name, Miley's head snapped up and she subconsciously tried to fix her hair.

"Of course that's okay, but sweet niblets that boy must have a wooden leg! Every time he comes over here he nearly empties out the fridge. He eats more than Uncle Earl did on Thanksgiving of '99 when he had to be rushed to the urgent care center."

"Hey! I resent that." As if on cue, Oliver walked into the Stewarts' kitchen and sat down next to Miley. "Morning Miley, Lilly, Jackson, and Mr. Stewart."

"Good morning, Oliver!" Miley said cheerily, smiling for the first time since she got up. Lilly harrumphed.

"Gee, I feel loved. All I got was a grunt from a grumpy Miley, and _Ollie_ over here gets a freaking 'good morning' from a happy, upbeat, totally _un-grumpy_ Miley." Lilly complained a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Her complaint caused Oliver to chuckle.

"Well, what can I say? Smokin' Oken has a way with the ladies." Oliver sighed. His fictitious statement earned a laugh out of Miley and eye roll from Lilly.

"Mr. Stewart, is it okay if I get a ride with you in the mornings for this week? My parents are out of town and the bus doesn't come by my house." Oliver requested hopefully.

"Sure thing Oliver, you're always welcome over here. If y'all want to get to school on time, you'd better hurry. School starts in ten minutes, so we definitely need to leave soon." Robbie Ray answered, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Oh no, hold on! Give me five minutes, I have to go and put on make up!" Miley demanded.

"Bud, we don't have time for that."

"Yeah, and you'll need a lot more than five minutes to make that ugly face of yours look decent." Jackson quipped. She slapped her brother on the arm.

"Please, Daddy?" She begged, turning her attention back to her father.

"You don't need to put on make up." Oliver said between mouthfuls of cereal that he'd somehow managed to snag without anyone noticing, "You look beautiful without it."

Lilly looked disgusted at both the milk coming out of the side of Oliver's mouth and at the sappy-ness of the whole remark. But on the other hand, Miley looked thrilled beyond words.

"Really?"

"Of course Miles, I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it." He got the remaining cereal off his face and stood up. "Are we ready to go?"

"I think so." Mr. Stewart swung the key ring around his index finger and walked out the door, Jackson and Lilly following after. Oliver stopped and held the front door open for Miley. She smiled at him and blushed. Lilly caught Miley's eye and gave her a look as if to say: _'I'm not going to let this go.'_

Indeed, Lilly did not let it go, whatever _it _was. Miley skillfully dodged all of Lilly's questioning glances and prying questions. That just made Lilly even more determined: no more beating around the bush, she was going to be blunt.

Oliver was in the line waiting to get his food at lunchtime when out-of-the blue Lilly said, "I have two questions. How long have you liked Oliver and when exactly were you planning on telling me?" Miley spat out her water and stared at her friend in utter surprise.

"Best friend asking weird questions say _what_?"

"You didn't hear me? You want me to say it louder? HOW LONG HAVE YOU LIKED O—mmhgph!?" The finish to her statement was blocked out by Miley's hand covering her mouth.

"No I don't like him! What gave you that idea?" Miley whispered angrily. Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Please. How about what _didn't_ give me that idea? Take earlier this morning for example: you were in such a terrible mood until Oliver came over, then you mysteriously cheered up. Example two: you were so ecstatic when he said that you were beautiful without makeup. Well obviously he hasn't seen you in the morning before you've had your shower."

"Hey! I resent that." Miley defended herself. Lilly simply ignored her and went on as if she hadn't said a word.

"What about when he held the door open for you? You couldn't stop smiling! Even when Amber and Ashley came up to us before class and made fun of you not wearing makeup, you were still smiling! And none of his jokes are funny—and I mean none—and yet you laugh at all of them. Much more than they deserve, might I add. And you always seem to get mad when any other person at school shows romantic interest in him!"

"That doesn't mean I like him! He's my best friend, and I'm just looking out for him. Besides," she said looking down at her feet, "even if I did like him, there's no way that he'd like me back."

"Are you serious? You don't see it?" Lilly asked incredulously.

"See what?" It was obvious that Miley was really confused at this point. Lilly slapped her hand to her forehead in frustration.

"Miley, wake up! You have that boy so whipped that he'd do absolutely anything for you! He doesn't realize it either, but he is. He does everything for you, no matter how ridiculous. And I'll bet he doesn't even know why! He's so clueless that he probably doesn't even realize it."

"What are you talking about? Realize what?"

"Don't you see? Oliver likes you! He always has." Lilly insisted. Miley gaped at her.

"Did you put sugar in your cereal this morning?"

"Yes I did...but that's not the point! I can't believe you don't see this. I'll bet he liked you as Hannah Montana even before he knew you were her, and he likes you even_ more_ now!"

"Seriously?"

"Want me to prove it to you?" Lilly asked. Miley nodded, giving Lilly the green light to put her idea into action. She took Miley's lunch and put it on her own tray, then motioned to her friend to not say a word about it, for Oliver was approaching them.

"Hey what's up? I saw you guys arguing about something from the lunch line. Anything bad going on?"

"Nope, not at all!" They chimed at the same time. It was so simultaneous that even the usually oblivious Oliver knew there was something going on that he didn't know about. He shrugged; it was probably some female thing that he was better off not knowing.

"Hey Miley, where's your lunch? Aren't you going to eat?" Oliver asked, suddenly realizing his best friend's lack of food.

"I don't know," she looked pointedly at Lilly, "I guess I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot to pack anything or bring lunch money."

"Oh, well I'll go back in line and get you something. You know, only if you want me to."

"No that's okay; I couldn't have you do that. The line is huge, it'll take—" Lilly kicked her hard under the table, causing Miley to change her answer smoothly. "Are you sure? You really don't have to."

"Yeah, I'm positive. It's no problem." No sooner had Oliver sat down, he got up and went back to the line. Lilly looked smugly at Miley.

"Look at that. I don't think he'd do that for me."

Miley laughed, "Of course he would!" Lilly scoffed.

"Have you _seen_ the line? It will take at least ten minutes just to get to the front! If he _did_ do that for me, it would be because I threatened him to; and even then he would complain about it. He sure wouldn't _volunteer_ to go back!" Lilly contradicted her best friend. Even so, Miley wasn't buying it.

"Okay, you want me to prove it to you even more?" She didn't even give Miley a chance to answer. "By the end of the next Hannah Montana concert, you two will be together or my name isn't Lilly Truscott! So...when's the next concert?"

"It's this Friday at 8:30 PM." Miley answered flatly. Lilly clapped her hands together confidently.

"No problem. Look, here he comes with your lunch. Now we should stop talking about this." Lilly instructed.

"No arguments here!"

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**Second Author's Note:** Hmm what do you think? Please review nicely. No flames, but constructive criticism is welcome. Next chapter is on its way!


	2. Tuesday

P>**First Author's Note:** Here's the next chapter, only three more to go!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hannah Montana or any characters/actors associated with said show. (But I'd sure love to have personal access to Mitchel Musso!)

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**TUESDAY: **

Today, Lilly decided to pester Oliver. After getting to the bottom of Miley's case in record time, she figured that it was time to test her skills on him. It would be much easier and faster than with Miley, Lilly assumed. She had, in fact, assumed right. It had taken Miley three periods and then lunchtime before she admitted it; for Oliver, it had only taken one.

"'Sup, Oliver?" Lilly asked nonchalantly.

"Nothing much, Lilly. You?"

"Same. Hey, I have a question...you liked Miley before you found out she was Annah-hay Ontana-may, right?"

"Yeah, why?" Oliver said. As soon as he realized what he'd admitted, he froze. Lilly clapped excitedly.

"I knew it!" Lilly started doing a happy dance despite the fact that the whole class was staring at her in shock.

"You can't tell her that!" Oliver ordered. Lilly stopped her dance and looked at Oliver as if he was crazy.

"I know that. _You_ have to tell her."

"I will, eventually..."

"No, Oliver, you have to tell her today!" Lilly demanded, crossing her arms in front of her chest, daring him to contradict her.

"Are you joking?" He asked weakly even though he already knew the answer.

"Nope."

"Can I have until the end of the week?"

"Fine, but if you really don't want another guy like Jake to sweep her off her feet, then you'd better tell her the next time you see her." Lilly warned. Oliver mumbled something under his breath and Lilly smirked before heading to Biology.

Lilly walked into the classroom and spotted her friend at their normal table in the middle of the room. Miley didn't notice Lilly walk in, she was too busy writing something in her notebook.

"Hey, Miley." Lilly greeted cheerfully. Miley's eyes widened at her friend's sudden appearance and she hastily closed her notebook and put it under her biology book before smiling up at Lilly.

"Hey, Lilly. Have you seen Oliver?" Miley asked nervously, hoping that Lilly wouldn't ask why she hid the notebook.

"Yeah...why do you want to know?" Lilly asked, purposely pretending she didn't see Miley try to hide her notebook; she made a mental note to steal it later when Miley wasn't looking.

"No reason. He's just my friend; can't I ask where my friends are without being accused of having ulterior motives?"

"Sure Miley, don't get so defensive."

"I'm _not_ getting defensive!"

"If you say so..." Lilly sighed. Just then Oliver walked in and a large smile wove its way onto Miley's face.

"Hi, Oliver." She chirped.

"H-hey, Miles." He looked at Lilly, silently asking if she had told Miley any of their previous conversation. Lilly just smiled and shrugged unhelpfully. Oliver sighed heavily and sat down at their lab table.

"Today, we are will be doing a plant lab on differentiating monocots and dicots," their biology teacher, Ms. Kunkle said. "I want you to get a partner. Once you have your partner, come up here and get your worksheet and then head outside. You'll be gathering two examples of monocots and two examples of dicots." Lilly immediately ran across the room to be partners with Amanda, purposely leaving Oliver and Miley to be partners.

"Be my partner?" Miley asked hopefully.

"Yeah, definitely!" Oliver agreed eagerly. Miley looked a bit surprised at his enthusiasm. He caught her glance, "What? Now I know I'll get an A." For half a second, a brief look of disappointment flashed across Miley's face—she had hoped there was a different reason for his excitement—but she quickly replaced it with a mock glare and slapped him playfully on the arm.

"Hey!" He complained. Miley just smiled wryly at his outburst.

"My hand slipped." She said rather unconvincingly. Oliver was about to protest when Miley hit him again.

"Ok, now I _know_ that wasn't an unintentional 'slip of the hand.'"

"Neither was the first one." Miley said laughingly and raised her hand to hit him again, but he stopped her mid-strike by grabbing her hand in his and intertwining their fingers so she couldn't wrench her hand away. Not to be defeated, Miley giggled as she got her other hand up to slap his other arm, but he captured that one too. Now they were stuck; not that either of them minded, Lilly noted from the other side of the room. It seemed as if time froze for them, both were staring at the other with a look of...Lilly couldn't place it, but she knew it sure wasn't platonic anymore. Unfortunately, Amber and Ashley also noticed.

"Oh look, Stewart and Oken, loser love!" That naturally got the whole class to look at the two and start whispering. Amber and Ashley looked at one another haughtily, "Ooohhhh tsssssss."

Miley and Oliver hastily let go of each others' hands and didn't make eye contact; both were staring avidly at the floor with their faces slowly gaining color. Clearing his throat Oliver spoke to break the awkward tension.

"C'mon Miles, who cares what they're saying, it's Amber and Ashley! They have nothing better to do then to torment people. Let's just ignore them and go get the worksheet and start the lab." Miley shook her head at Oliver in slight amazement.

"You know, for a donut, you sure have some very non-donut moments. You're completely right, let's go." They walked to the front of the room. This attracted many stares, but they ignored them all and went outside to start the lab.

Once the two were outside, they looked around for leaves and flowers that would be examples of monocots and dicots.

"Miley, I have to ask you something." Oliver said nervously.

"Yes?" She replied, her heart beating faster, hardly daring to believe where this might lead.

"The flowers with two seed leaves are monocots right?" Miley was disappointed, but she didn't let it show on her face.

"No _mono_ means one, so that would mean that the _mono_cots have one seed leaf and dicots have two."

"Oh, okay," he said sheepishly, "That makes sense. Can't we just go to the garden that's by the lunchroom or something to get the examples?"

"Oliver that's brilliant!" He blushed under her praise. The two of them headed over to the garden and Miley squealed once it came into view. "This is perfect! There are so many different examples." She picked an iris and then reached for a rose. "Darn I can't pick a rose. I don't have gloves. Oh well, sunflowers are my next favorite flower." So she picked a sunflower and held it up next to the iris.

"Do you see how the iris has petals in a set of three?" Miley asked. Oliver nodded. "Well that's an example of a monocot. The flowers that are monocots always have petals in sets of three, while the dicot flowers are in fours and fives, like this sunflower. And the leaves of the sunflower have veins in a net pattern unlike the iris whose leaves have parallel veins." Miley was radiating happiness as she was explaining this and Oliver marveled at her carefree beauty and intelligence. Miley set the flowers down and wrote on their paper everything that they needed.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" At the top she penned carefully: 'Miley and Oliver.' She smiled wistfully at their names until Oliver brought her back to reality.

"Um, Miles?"

"Yeah?"

"Isn't there a backside to the worksheet?" Miley gasped and flipped it over to find that he was right. She started quickly going through and answering the questions. While she was distracted, Oliver let go of her hand and went to the rose bushes. There was a bush with dark pink roses and a bush with red ones. A gut feeling told him to get a red one; lucky for him, lying next to the bush was a pair of gardening shears. He grinned, picked them up and started looking for the perfect rose. Oliver saw one that was just beginning to open its petals and decided to get that one; it would last longer than one that was fully bloomed.

Quickly he snipped the flower off of the bush but still leaving about seven inches of stem. The only problem with the rose now was that it had huge thorns. He cut off the thorns from the bottom to about three inches from the top. Now there was a place for her to hold the rose without getting practically impaled by the stems. He headed back to where Miley was sitting and finishing the last question on the worksheet. When she finished, she turned around to find Oliver standing behind her and holding out to her a beautiful red rose.

"For you."

"Aw, thanks!" Miley gushed. "It's gorgeous!" She reached up and gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. The spot where her lips touched Oliver's cheek tingled pleasantly. Oliver felt that this would be the perfect time to finally tell her his feelings, but just as he opened his mouth to speak, the bell rang.

"Shoot, we have to go. Come on Oliver!" Miley ran out of the garden, thinking that her friend was following her. When she looked back, she saw him hitting himself in the head.

"What in the world are you doing?! We have to go to Algebra II now!" He made no attempt to move, so Miley ran back, grabbed his hand and led him back to the class. As soon as they got in, she handed their paper to Ms. Kunkle and they ran to the lockers to get their math books. She put her book under her arm and set the rose carefully down on her biology book before running (and still holding onto Oliver's hand) to Mr. Corelli's math class. Lilly was the only one to notice they were still holding hands until they sat down, Miley behind Lilly, and Oliver a row to the right and a seat ahead of Lilly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**Second Author's Note:** Please review; especially if you add the story to your alert/favorite list. At least 15 reviews overall would be awesome!


	3. Tuesday pt 2

**First Author's Note:** Wow only 2 chapters left after this!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hannah Montana or any characters/actors associated with said show. (But I'd sure love to have personal access to Mitchel Musso!)

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**TUESDAY pt. 2: **

The late bell hadn't rang yet and Mr. Corelli still hadn't come in the classroom, so everyone was talking amongst themselves and nobody was in their assigned seats. Lilly, who was standing next to Miley as opposed to in her seat, suddenly remarked, "Wow, its pretty cold in this classroom." She accentuated her words with a shiver. "Mr. Corelli needs to turn up the heat." Oliver and Miley laughed at her statement.

"Lilly," Miley said between laughs, "don't ever say that again, it sounds so wrong." Lilly looked mildly put out that her two best friends were having a joke at her expense. "But," Miley continued, all traces of laughter cut from her voice, "you are right. It is really cold in here." She too shivered, "I wish I had brought a jacket." Almost immediately Oliver unzipped his own jacket and placed it over Miley's shoulders.

"Here, you can wear mine." Miley looked up at him.

"Aww that's so sweet thanks, Oliver." She slipped it on and it was—of course—too big for her, the sleeves completely covered her hands, but she didn't mind at all. Lilly looked outraged.

"What is this?! I said I was cold first! Miley said that after me, and yet you let _her_ wear your jacket!? Oh I see how it is. Well I guess I'll just go to my seat...alone...with none of my friends with me...and I'll be cold...because nobody wanted to lend me a jacket...cold...alone...! This is where you're supposed to have fallen for my over dramatic guilt trip! Guys?"

For once, Miley didn't fall for her dramatics; she was too busy gazing at Oliver (again!) and he at her, (again!) Lilly muttered to herself. "See the sacrifices I make for my friends? Psshh this had better not keep happening once I get them together...if they aren't already." Just then Mr. Corelli walked in and everyone scrambled to get to their seats. As soon as the class was situated, he began to drone on about Algebra II, something nobody wanted to hear.

**Hey Miley, what was with you and Oliver still holding hands before? Are you guys going together now?**

Lilly passed the note up to Miley. Oliver saw her out of the corner of his eye and wondered what was going on. He saw Miley blush at whatever was in the note, and instantly his curiosity was sparked. Miley hastily scribbled something to Lilly and passed the note back.

_I don't really know. It was odd because we had no reason to be, but it was comforting. He didn't comment on it, so neither did I. No Lils, we aren't 'going together' that'd be hecka awesome if we were though. I really do like him. But..._

Lilly smirked and after writing something passed it back.

**But what? **

Miley's reply was instantaneous.

_I don't think he likes me. To him I'm probably just his best friend who happens to be a female. _

**Haha, you're joking right? You must be; after what's he's already done this week—and it's only Tuesday!**

_What? Telling me I look beautiful without makeup, buying me lunch, letting me wear his jacket and giving me a flower? Yeah, but he would do that for you too. Right?_

**You can't be seriously thinking that. **

_Well..._

**Miley—he'd be more likely to tell me that I need more makeup as opposed to less. He would buy me lunch only if I threatened him and you saw that he'd rather give you his jacket—wait, what's this about a flower?!**

_Nothing._

**Liar! I guess I could just ask Oliver to tell me.**

Instead of passing the note back, Lilly turned to Oliver and pretended that she was going to get his attention. From out of the corner of her eye, she saw Miley frantically mouthing 'NO!' Pausing right before tapping him on the shoulder, Lilly retreated and wrote something else on the note before passing it back to Miley.

**Then you tell me.**

_Fine, I'll tell you at lunch. But you have to promise not to go crazy in defending your theory of him liking me._

**I'll try, but no promises.**

Just as Lilly passed the note to Miley, another folded piece of paper landed on her desk; it was from Oliver.

Lilly! This is really boring; I'm surprised I haven't fallen asleep yet. What are you and Miley talking about?

**Oh nothing, she's just confessing her love for Jake Ryan.**

WHAT?!

**Just kidding! Wow that was hilarious; you should have seen your face, it was priceless.**

Not funny.

**No you're right, it wasn't funny...it was hilarious! Note terminated.**

Lilly didn't pass the note back to Oliver quite yet, she waited to get the one note back from Miley.

_What's Oliver saying?_

**Oh nothing, he's just confessing his love for Becca Weller.**

_WHAT?!_

**J/K. Haha, I got you there. **

_That was not nice._

**No but it was pretty funny. You should have seen your face! The little green monster named 'Jealousy' was definitely visible. **

Lilly passed a note back to Oliver, thinking it was the one he'd started, but it wasn't, it was the one she and Miley had been passing back and forth. He began to unfold it, not realizing he had the wrong note yet. Lilly tapped Miley on the shoulder, she looked back and Lilly pointed at Oliver who was closer to unfolding their note.

What could Miley and Lilly to do to make sure that Oliver didn't read their note? It was obvious in the note that Miley liked Oliver...if he read it, her secret would be out. Then he could either like her and everything would be perfect; or he could not see her as more than a friend and then their relationship would be awkward and weird. That was the last thing in the world Miley wanted, so she was pretty desperate for him to not read that note.

Lilly motioned for her to hurry up and do something. Miley took a deep breath and hissed at Oliver to get his attention.

"Oliver! _Oliver!_"

He turned around looking slightly annoyed, but when he saw it was Miley his face brightened a bit. "Yeah?"

"You have the wrong note. That's the one Lilly and I have been passing. Can you give it back to me?" She begged as quietly as she could. If Mr. Corelli heard, then both notes would probably be read out loud; at least that's what happened with Amber and Ashley last week.

"Sure, I'll just—wait a minute," The boy narrowed his eyes. "Why do you not want me to read the note? We're all friends right, so what does it matter?"

Miley's eyes widened as she struggled for a plausible excuse. "It's just, it's...stuff. Believe me, you don't want to know." She held her breath, hoping that her lame excuse worked. She could see the wheels in his brain turning and wondered what he was thinking. Miley gave it one last try. "If you care about me at all, then please—I'm begging you—don't read that note!"

Oliver thought about it for a moment and sheepishly passed the note back to Lilly who gave Oliver's actual note back to him. Miley smiled in gratitude. "Thanks Oliver. Believe me you're _better off not knowing_ what's in the note. You'd never be able to _look at _anything or_ anyone the same way_ again." She looked pointedly at Lilly when as she heavily emphasized the sentence.

"You're lucky I love you so much, Miles; otherwise I probably would have read the note." Oliver said, and looked surprised at the bold words that came out of his mouth. Miley gaped at his statement and Lilly grinned from ear-to-ear.

"Y-y-you love me?" Miley asked a quaver in her voice. Oliver's mind frantically searched for a way to backtrack. Sure he did love her, but this was not how she was supposed to find out.

"Oh yeah, of course I do, as a friend, a best friend." He smiled weakly at her before turning back towards the front of the room to make an effort to listen to Mr. Corelli. Lilly could not believe it! Why were her friends so insistent on being blind to the fact that they both like each other, and so stubborn to actually _do_ anything about it? Lilly furiously added to the note what seemed like a novel to Miley, before finally passing it back.

**In reply to the completely over-emphasized sentence, yes, he'd look at you as his 'significant other' not simply as a friend. Oh and another thing, if it was me who asked for him not to read it, he probably would have anyway. We're like siblings. I would have been the older sister and he would have been the annoying younger brother reading my diary. But because it was you, he respected your privacy. And do I even need to remind you of the: 'you're lucky I love you so much, Miles.'? **

_He said as a friend Lilly, a FRIEND. Did you not hear that? _

**He only said that because...well I don't know why, he's retarded, but I know for certain he loves you as more than a friend. If the way he loves you is like a friend, then I must be an enemy.**

_I'm taking notes. Don't disturb me._

**Whatever; why can't you just admit I'm right? Don't forget to tell me about the flower at lunch! Note terminated.**

The rest of the class went by in an uninteresting blur; math was the last thing that anyone wanted to focus on: especially Miley, Lilly and Oliver. It was now lunchtime, and Oliver was getting his food from the line; Miley didn't want to seem obsessive over him giving her a rose, so she had waited until he was gone to tell Lilly about it.

"He gave you a red rose?" Lilly squealed. "Are you serious? How sweet! Do you know what that means?" Miley shook her head. "A single red rose means that he loves you! Hmm I think he should have given you a yellow rose with a red tip which means friendship and falling in love. Ooh or even better, a coral rose!! That means desire."

"Lilly, stop it! It doesn't mean anything. It was just a really sweet gesture. There were roses, he knew that those were my favorite flower so he got one for me...and cut the thorns off the bottom."

"He did WHAT?" Lilly gaped incredulously at this new revelation.

"Shh Lilly be quiet!"

"That proves it. I think that now you have all the evidence you need: the makeup comment, your lunch, the rose, the jacket, the handholding and now the whole note scene! Come _on_, Miley; if it was me that needed lunch—as I have said before—he wouldn't go voluntarily, and him giving me a rose?! Completely delusional! Today I did say I was cold first but he gives _you _his jacket. Miley, he likes you."

"Lilly, you promised not to go crazy on me." Miley growled in a warning tone.

"I said I'd _try _but fine, just answer me this: were there other colors of roses?"

"Yes, there was a dark pink rose bush too."

"A-hah! Dark pink ones mean thank you. He does like you, and based on what he said in math, he probably loves you. I don't know why you are refusing to see that!"

Oliver came up to them, his tray in hand. "Refusing to see what?"

"Nothing!" They both said simultaneously. Oliver rolled his eyes at his two friends and began to eat, choosing to ignore their suspicious behavior.

"Hey you guys!" Miley exclaimed. "I almost forgot; do you guys want to have our movie night tomorrow night? I have Hannah things all this weekend starting on Friday." At the mention of the word 'Friday' she shot Lilly a significant look.

"Sounds great to me, my parents are out of town anyway, so count me in!" Oliver said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine." Lilly declared easily, "It's not like we aren't at your house all the time anyway. I just have to ask my mom."

"Cool! So just be over at my house at around 7pm with all of your stuff; and in the morning we can take you all to school." Miley instructed.

"Awesome." Oliver chimed in.

"I can't wait." Lilly exclaimed, barely containing the excitement in her voice. She had what was—in her mind—the most brilliant plan ever to get Miley and Oliver finally together. Miley got her proof ten times over, (even if she refused to buy it) and Lilly knew for sure that they both had a thing for each other, now it was just a matter of actually getting them together. If her idea ­worked, then they'd be a couple, but if it didn't then their friendship would be ruined. But what are the chances of that happening?

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**Second Author's Note:** Wow, longest chapter thus far and easily the hardest one to write! Please review! No flames, but constructive criticism is welcome!!


	4. Wednesday and Thursday

**First Author's Note:** Sorry--doing some editing!) I've come this far, I can't even believe it. Thank you all for your support in my first HM fanfic! Please remember to review!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hannah Montana or any characters/actors associated with said show. (But I'd sure love to have personal access to Mitchell Musso!) And I don't own the movie 'It' which is based off of Stephen King's novel. Scary movie, the end is hokey, but it's still kinda scary.

**NOTE: Lilly's plan will included in the next chapter! Sorry if there was any confusion about that. **

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**WEDNESDAY:**

Miley was anxiously waiting for Lilly and Oliver to arrive, she didn't know why, but she was extremely excited. In fact, if she remembered correctly, the only time she'd been this excited for a movie night was after she had told Oliver she was Hannah Montana. She was happy that both of her best friends knew her secret and everything—well almost everything—was out in the open. The 'almost' being the fact that she hadn't told either of them, Oliver especially, that she liked him.

If Lilly was to be believed, then Oliver had liked Miley then too. It was aggravating how much time they'd wasted. Even though Miley had gone out with many guys, it was always Oliver she was trying to leave behind because she thought that it was ludicrous that he would ever like her. If Miley was brutally honest with herself, she was excited because she wanted something to finally start between her and Oliver tonight. Even though it seemed too crazy to believe, Lilly was right, it did seem plausible that Oliver liked her.

A loud ringing ran through the house, which startled Miley. It took a moment for her to realize that it was the doorbell. Not wanting Lilly and Oliver to wait any longer, she ran to the door and opened it.

"Hey guys!" Miley chirped happily.

"Hi, Miley." Oliver smiled at her enthusiasm, it was very contagious.

"Hey, Miles. Guess what!" Lilly didn't give her friend any time to respond. "I brought lots of chips _and_ soda _and_ I brought a scary movie! Are you excited?"

Miley looked nervously at the bags in Lilly's hands. "Lil, you know I have a very low tolerance for scary movies."

"Yeah, I know, but this one was made in the 70's so it's more likely to be hokey than scary." Miley only looked partially relieved at her friend's statement.

"Well if you say so, Lilly. What's it called and what's it about?"

"The movie is called It, and it's a movie about evil clowns." Miley's eyes widened in horror.

"No Lilly! We are not watching that; you know I'm really afraid of clowns, so why on earth would you bring a clown movie?"

"To help you get over your fear, duh!" Lilly said this in an obvious manner and Miley looked even less convinced than she did when Lilly had said it was a 70's movie. "C'mon you guys, let's get food and start the movie, it's a really long movie so we should start it now." Miley raised her eyebrow at Oliver as if to say 'Why are we friends with her?' He chuckled quietly and shrugged in response.

"Wait two conditions," Miley began with a gleam in her eye, "I will only watch this movie if I get to sit in the middle of you two during the movie and if I get to sleep on the couch later tonight."

Lilly spluttered. "That's not fair! You got to sleep on the couch last time."

Miley smiled serenely. "I know." Lilly crossed her arms over her chest and exhaled loudly.

"You drive a hard bargain, Stewart, but I accept your terms." Miley smiled victoriously and started the movie, then proceeded to turn off the lights. She then settled in comfortably between Oliver and Lilly; just a bit closer to Oliver than she was to Lilly. Not even thirty minutes later, Miley was clutching the arms of both of her friends so tightly that both felt the loss of circulation.

"I'm not going to be able to take this for the rest of the three hour movie." Lilly declared suddenly.

Miley gulped. "Three hours? That's a long movie about clowns. And you said it would be hokey. This is scary! The clown ate the little kids. He tore off Georgie's arm! The clown grew fangs Lilly, _fangs! _That's not natural, that's just plain scary! Now—thanks to you—I'm even more terrified of clowns!"

Lilly simply went on as if her friend hadn't spoken, "You have got to stop squeezing the flow out of my hand, and Oliver's too for that matter. They are hands, not plush toys! Right, Oliver?" Oliver looked torn between Lilly's angry glare and Miley's sad eyes. He wanted the flow back, but Miley looked so...sad and he couldn't ignore that.

"It's fine Miley. Don't worry about me." Lilly harrumphed at Oliver's response while Miley smiled and held on to his arm. Three hours later when the credits rolled, not one member of the trio remained awake. Lilly was passed out on the floor, a bag of chips still clutched in her grip, Oliver was sitting up against the couch, but his head was leaning forward and he was snoring whereas Miley was lying on the couch, one of her arms hanging off the edge and dangling next to Oliver.

Lilly was in a sugar coma and completely zonked, so when in the middle of the night Miley screamed in fear, it was Oliver who heard her. He blearily got up from his spot on the floor and went to the side of the couch.

"Miles, are you ok?" She didn't seem to be awake; she was in the midst of a nightmare. He touched her arm gently. "Miley?" At Oliver's touch, Miley abruptly sat up and started to breathe heavily, her eyes wide open and scanning the room in fear.

"Is _It_ here?" She asked him fearfully, while still looking around the room. Oliver, who had no earthly idea who or what Miley was referring to, spoke comfortingly.

"No, of course the clown is not here, it's gone." Miley sagged in relief, but then jolted up again.

"So he was here before then?"

Oliver mentally groaned and re-phrased his remark. "No Miley, he was never here, don't worry."

"Okay, that's good. I don't want to end up like Georgie. I don't want to float! That poor little boy did nothing to—" Miley's stomach growled loudly. "I'm hungry."

Oliver looked at his friend incredulously. "How on earth can you be hungry after all of that food you and Lilly practically inhaled?" Miley smiled.

"That was all Lilly. I actually didn't get any of that. And for the record, you're one to talk. You're _always_ hungry!"

"Hey! I resent that. I'm a growing boy and I need my energy." Oliver tried to defend himself. Miley just laughed at him.

"That was believable the first three times you used it, now it's just getting old. C'mon, seriously though, let's get something to eat. There's some pizza that Lilly didn't devour because I hid it from her." At the word pizza, Oliver's eyes lit up.

"What are we waiting for then, let's go see!" He bounded to the kitchen and turned around when he realized that Miley wasn't right next to him. The sight that met his eyes almost made him laugh out loud, but he held it in. Miley would not have appreciated being laughed at. She was sitting up on the couch, the blanket pulled up to right below her eyes, and she had resumed scanning the dark corners in the room looking for a non-existent enemy.

"Miley, come on. You'll be fine, Pennywise is not here. He isn't real."

"I know that," she squeaked, "but something else could still be out there." Oliver rolled his eyes and walked back to Miley. He gently pulled the comforter down and grabbed her hand.

"Come with me. I'll keep you safe. That clown is going to have to go through me if it wants to get to you." Not entirely reassured, Miley allowed Oliver to pull her up and lead her to the kitchen. After they had had their fill of cold pizza and flat Pepsi, he led her back to the couch and talked to her until she was about to fall asleep. Oliver was about to leave when Miley grabbed hold of his arm.

"Please don't go." She whimpered, looking up at him pitifully. Oliver could not resist Miley, he would do anything for her but she just didn't know it. So he gave in and crawled onto the couch and under the blanket with her. He hesitantly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and she sighed in content and immediately fell asleep. But Oliver had a harder time with falling asleep. In the back of his mind, he felt very guilty for having completely inappropriate mental wanderings about being in bed with his best friend.

**THURSDAY:**

Lilly woke up promptly at 5:30 AM, which was amazing considering that she had gone to sleep around midnight and that no outside force had contributed to waking her up. Sitting up and yawning widely, she checked to see if she was the only one awake; a glance at the couch showed Miley and Oliver snuggled up together and looking very peaceful. They were facing each other, and they were inches apart from kissing; Miley's left leg was wrapped around Oliver's waist and her right one was in between Oliver's legs. _Whoa—wait what?!_ Lilly looked back at the couch and almost screamed. _What the heck happened after I fell asleep? _A grin smeared across her face instantly, maybe they were finally together! Not wanting to wake up the pair, Lilly tiptoed quietly to Miley's bathroom. _Hah! If she's asleep, I'm going to raid the Hannah closet for something to wear to school today._

Forty-five minutes later, Lilly was completely ready to go, dressed stylishly in a Hannah outfit with the cutest shoes Lilly had ever seen. She trekked back downstairs to check on the lovebirds and found that they were still asleep; it appeared that neither of them had moved too much: Oliver's arm was now resting on the small of Miley's back. Keeping an eye on the clock (which now read 6:15), Lilly took one picture...or two...or ten pictures on her phone before deciding to wake Miley up. She moved to the couch and bent down to gently shake her awake, but Lilly's hand hadn't even come within a foot of Miley's shoulder when she stretched her legs. Miley's right leg—which was still between Oliver's legs—moved not too much, but enough to cause Oliver's eyes to shoot open.

Miley's eyes slowly fluttered open and she was very shocked to find herself face to face with Oliver. Miley looked down at the rest of their position and yelped. She tumbled to the ground unintentionally pulling Oliver down with her. Right before his body would have come crashing down on hers; Oliver placed his hands on the ground on both sides of Miley's head and balanced his weight there. Both were breathing heavily, with flushed faces. Oliver smiled awkwardly down at his friend. "Good morning."

Miley squeaked and shot out from under Oliver like a rocket. She hightailed it to her room and the slam of her door reverberated throughout the house. Oliver looked incredibly confused, he looked to Lilly who was laughing so hard that she was making no noise and tears were streaming down her face.

"That was...priceless!" Lilly choked out between laughs.

"What just happened?"

Lilly snorted. "No, the million dollar question isn't that, it's what happened between you guys last night to get you in that position on the couch." Her expression turned grim as she waited expectantly for Oliver to explain.

"Huh? What position? I only know that her legs were next to mine."

"Next to yours...? Oliver, it was hard to tell where your body ended and Miley's started." Lilly said exaggerating just a little bit, but that went over Oliver's head.

"What do you mean?"

Lilly took her phone out and showed him the pictures she took. Oliver blushed.

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh' is right. So what happened between you two last night?" Oliver sighed and told about how Miley was scared and had a nightmare and how he comforted her. During his retelling, Lilly was nodding and smiling, but when Oliver finished she looked furious and shocked.

"That's _it?_" Oliver nodded. "You didn't _tell her?_" At this Oliver shook his head. Lilly's eye twitched and she had to restrain herself from attacking her donut of a friend. She took a deep breath and gained her composure.

"Oliver, will you please hand me that magazine on the table?" Lilly asked sweetly. He handed it to her, all the while looking confused as to why she wanted it. Lilly rolled it up into a tight tube and whacked him on the arm with it.

"OW! What was that for?!" Oliver yelled, clutching his arm where Lilly had struck.

"That was for being a donut!" She declared. "I told you on Tuesday to tell Miley but you didn't! I simply let it slide even though I gave you the PERFECT opportunity in Biology. Yesterday, I decided not to push it too much, but there were so many opportunities for you to tell her and yet you still didn't; and don't even get me started on last night! So that leaves me with something to wonder: what the hell is wrong with you? Are you really going to let her leave you behind because you were too cowardly to actually tell her that you are practically in love with her? Well if you are than you must not have liked her that much to begin with." Having finished her spiel, Lilly waited for Oliver to try and explain his idiotic reasoning for not telling Miley.

"Yes I do! I care about her so much."

"THEN. TELL. HER. YOU. DONUT." Lilly all but screamed, punctuating each word with a hit on the arm with the rolled up magazine. "Tell her you care about her. The only way she'll know is if you, or I, tell her."

"But she probably is so mad at me right now." Lilly hit him again.

"Ow!" he bleated.

"No she's not, she's just confused. And stop your whining I'm not even hitting you that hard."

"She yelled at me though; and yes you are!" Oliver scooted away before she could hit him again.

"You took her by surprise! I'm sure she wasn't expecting to wake up like that." Oliver looked sheepish after quickly realizing that Lilly was right.

"I guess you're right." he admitted to her and watching as she sprouted a wicked grin.

"Of course I am," Lilly said smugly. "So now you have until the end of tomorrow's concert to tell Miley or I will tell her for you."

"Okay, okay! Just please stop hitting me." He pulled up the right sleeve of his shirt to reveal the beginning of a very bruise. "Now look what you've done."

Lilly apologized without looking very sorry at all. "Well if you weren't such a donut, then maybe I wouldn't have had to hit you." Oliver griped silently at being called a donut again, but he didn't even try to deny it. If he did, he knew that Lilly would just aggravate his bruise more with her magazine.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**Second Author's Note:** Ok so this is the penultimate (second-to-last) chapter. Please, PLEASE tell me what you thought. No flames, only uber-positive reviews and constructive (but nicely worded) criticism!!

**NOTE: Lilly's plan (mentioned in chapter 3) will included in the next chapter! Sorry if there was any confusion about that. **


	5. Friday

**First Author's Note:** Really fast update! It's all because of the awesome reviews!! Please keep reviewing! It's the final chapter, I hope you like it!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hannah Montana or any characters/actors associated with said show. (But I'd sure love to have personal access to Mitchel Musso!)

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**FRIDAY:**

Today was the day. It was the day that Lilly said that Miley and Oliver would be together or her name wasn't Lilly Truscott. Lilly, on one hand, was extremely confident about her plan, she knew they were both crazy about each other and only needed a push—or shove as the case may be—in the right direction. Miley (right now Hannah Montana) however, was a basket case; she was so nervous. Even more nervous than she was on the day that she had to perform live on Top Rockers when Oliver was mad at her for thinking about bailing on him. Hopefully she wouldn't mess the words up at this concert, which would be disastrous!

"Lola, are you sure about this? I really don't think he likes me; he hasn't talked to me at all since yesterday morning!"

"Are you insane? Of course he likes you! How could you possibly have doubts? You've seen what he was like this all week except for Thursday—he's completely crazy about you!! Right now he's just...I don't know! Do you really expect me to figure out how a boy's brain works? And for the record, you didn't exactly make an effort to talk to him either. Both of you just ignored each other rather than discussing what happened at your house."

Hannah looked at her friend pleadingly, "Could you just try to translate his mind for me? I don't speak or think Oliver-ese! Please?" Lola threw her hands up in frustration.

"Fine, but for the record, I don't speak Oliver-ese either, he's just easy to understand for he's so simple minded. Right now he's probably just stressing to the point of insanity. Since Thursday morning everything's been tense and awkward between you two and that's definitely not what he wants. He probably thinks you're mad at him because of that morning and he's been avoiding you because—you know Oliver, he doesn't handle conflict well. So I'll bet you anything that he's trying to figure out a way to make things better. Just stop thinking about it, don't worry. Perform as if your whole love life and friendship with Oliv—Mike wasn't on the line."

Hannah glared witheringly at Lola. "Gee, thanks. That makes me feel as good as a turkey feels the day before Thanksgiving."

"Bud, you're on in 30 seconds." Miley's dad said, coming around the corner while sticking his moustache on. Oliver, who was in his Mike Standley the third disguise, was following behind him.

"Good luck Hannah, you'll do great!" Mike said, remembering that they agreed on always using the disguise names at concerts; he gave her a brief hug before joining Lola on the sides behind the stage. Hannah could have cried in relief; she was so happy that he was talking to her again! It was agony for her to go even two days without Oliver. She smiled gratefully his encouragement and walked on the stage.

"Hello, Los Angeles! Are you ready to rock?" The crowd erupted in cheers and Hannah Montana began her first song. A multitude of songs later, Hannah ran offstage to change into her other outfit. Lola was waiting in her dressing room.

"Well?" Hannah asked nervously as she put on her next outfit.

"Well it's time! Okay remember the plan. You know what song is last and what to say before you sing it. The question is, are you ready?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Good, now GO! Oh and by the way, Mr. Mike Standley the third over there couldn't keep his eyes off you. Believe me; I was next to him the whole time." Lola grinned at Hannah and all but pushed her out the door and back to the stage where she began singing even more. When it was at last time for her to sing her final song, Hannah looked to the side of the stage and saw both Lilly and Oliver there, still dressed as Lola and Mike.

They saw her glance at them and they both gave her their own silent signs of confidence. Lola winked at Hannah and Mike smiled warmly at her while mouthing something to her. Hannah couldn't decipher it, but it was something encouraging no doubt. On the outside, Hannah flashed a grin back at them, but on the inside Miley was crumbling. She couldn't ruin their friendship by doing this. He might like her, and it seemed like he did, but she didn't want to be the cause if their friendship did evaporate. Yesterday was bad enough, Miley didn't know if she could live through that again.

"Before I sing my last song I'd like to thank y'all for being such a wonderful audience!" Her declaration met with raucous cheers and when they finally died down, she sang.

**Take the world, shake it, stir it,**

**That's what I got going on**

**I throw my cares up in the air **

**And I don't think they're comin' down**

**Yeah I love how it feels right now...**

Hannah waved to the crowd after her song was over and ran off the stage knowing that later Lilly—er, Lola—was going to hurt her for not following through with the plan. Hannah had chickened out at the last second, there was just too much at risk. She felt a tap on her shoulder and expected it to be Lola, but instead she whirled around to come face-to-face with Mike; not that she was complaining.

"Hey! Have you seen Lola?"

"No, but I just wanted to say you did great."

"Aw, thanks. I'm glad you think so, I was really nervous: especially about that last song."

"You were fantastic, you always are." He paused and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Listen, Miles," Oliver paused again, unsure of how to go on and momentarily forgetting about the codenames rule. "I'm really sorry about going silent on you for the past couple of days. There's just been so much going on."

"It's okay Oliver, I'm just glad that things are back to normal between us." Her use of the word 'normal' made him wince.

"Things aren't quite normal actually. I, uh, hmm; there's no easy way to..." The sentence trailed off in a sigh. You wouldn't be able to tell on the outside, but internally Oliver was steeling himself and gathering up all his courage for this one moment. This was the only chance he had and he sure as hell couldn't mess it up. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lightly on the lips. To say that Miley was blown away would be the understatement of the century.

"I know this is really sudden, but I need to say this now; just promise me that whatever does happen, it won't ruin our friendship." Oliver asked when he pulled away.

"I promise." She stuttered.

"I really like you, Miley, and I've liked you for a long time—since before I found out you were Hannah Montana—and...I just don't want to not say anything and then have another guy just take you away before I had the chance to tell you." He said this all in one breath and waited for the reaction from her that would either make his life or break his heart.

"R-really?" The pop star quavered. Oliver nodded; and to that Miley responded by standing on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him square on the lips. Her hands entangled in his hair while his arms encircled her waist. The two of them were abruptly jolted out of their own little world when the audience was heard yelling for an encore from Hannah. They separated and Oliver smiled at her.

"Your audience is telling you to go back."

"But my heart is telling me to stay here." He let go of her and gently gave her a push in the direction of the stage.

"Go, do your encore; I'm not going anywhere." Hannah Montana slowly made her way back onto the stage wearing a smile brilliant enough to light up the Eiffel Tower. The roars demanding an encore got louder as she came into view.

"Okay, you win. One more song and this one I'd like to dedicate to Mike Standley the third with the hope that he'll pass it onto his friend Oliver."

**How did I get here?**

**I turned around and there you were**

**I didn't think twice or rationalize**

'**Cause somehow I knew.**

**That there was more than just chemistry**

**I mean I knew you were kind of into me **

**But I figured it's too good to be true**

**I said pinch me where's the catch this time**

**Can't find a single cloud in the sky,**

**Help me before I get used to this guy**

**They say that good things take time**

**But really great things happen in the blink of an eye**

**Thought the chances to meet somebody like you **

**Were a million to one**

Miley glanced back to where she'd left Oliver and saw him standing in the wings, waiting for her to come back. A glowing smile bloomed on her face as she sang; she and Oliver were finally together, and before the end of the concert. What do you know; Lilly was right after all. Miley made a note to herself to thank Lilly after the concert was over, and after she kissed Oliver again of course.

**I cannot believe it, ohh-oh whoa**

**You're one in a million...**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

**Second Author's Note:** FINISHED!! So...should I consider possibly writing more Moliver? Please review! No flames only constructive criticism.


End file.
